Father paralysed in ski accident wins damages

A father-of-two left paralysed by a skiing accident is expected to be awarded
more than £1million in damages after a High Court judge found his instructor
was at fault for taking him off piste.

By Richard Savill

7:29PM GMT 14 Nov 2008

Graham Anderson was injured when he skied off piste, lost control and hit a tree during a holiday in Puy St Vincent in the French Alps with his wife, Lesley, and two sons in February 2004.

Now tetraplegic, Mr Anderson, 46, of Crapstone, Devon, sued the ski tour operators, Michel and Wendy Lyotier, who trade as Snowbizz, based in Maxey, Cambridgeshire,

He alleged breach of duty, claiming the instructor Jerome Portejoie should not have taken him on the run, given his limited experience.

At the High Court in London, Mr Justice Foskett said M Portejoie had been negligent in that he should have realised that the short slope was "too much to ask" of Mr Anderson and was a "step too far".

Mr Anderson, who runs a printing business BGP in Plymouth, Devon, was not in court. Damages, expected to be more than a million pounds, will be assessed at a later date.

Mr Justice Foskett said Mr Anderson, whose father was paralysed in a car crash 40 years previously, had shown "quite remarkable resilience and cheerfulness" in the face of adversity. This was partly because his own father had reacted so positively when he received the similar injuries.

The judge said the accident had had a devastating impact upon Mr Anderson, and significant consequences for his wife, who though continuing to be supportive, separated from him afterwards, as well as for their sons.

After the case, Mr Anderson said: "It was an accident that should never have happened. For the rest of my life I am confined to a wheelchair. My Family life has been devastated by the accident.

"I now hope it will be easier for me to lead a more fulfilling life and enjoy a better quality of life with my children."

The judge emphasised that the case did not mean that anyone who suffered injury, even a serious injury, following a skiing accident, whether on or off-piste, or when under the supervision of an instructor, would necessarily win damages.

"Everyone recognises that skiing is an inherently risky pastime and accidents causing injuries, sometimes very serious, will occur, more often than not without negligence being established on the part of anyone involved," he said.

"The result in this case has arisen from the application of well-established legal principles to the particular facts."

Mr Anderson, who had been skiing twice before, said he was taken off piste even though he had "frequently fallen" when tackling similar conditions in the week.

M Portejoie's French insurers agreed to make a 100 per cent contribution to the award against the Lyotiers, who denied liability and argued that Mr Anderson himself was to blame.

Mr Justice Foskett ruled that M Portejoie was in breach of his duty to the extent that he was two-thirds responsible for the accident, while Mr Anderson was a third liable.

The judge concluded that, although Mr Anderson felt understandably "trapped" into tackling the slope because he did not want to break up his group, he could have refused to go down.

The judge said that whilst it was necessary for Snowbizz to be made a defendant, there was no suggestion it was at fault. The case related to the role of M Portejoie, for whose actions, under English law, Snowbizz was responsible.